Edelweiss, Edelies
by Tishie
Summary: A story about how a single flower had caused the abrupt start of a World War between Switzerland and Japan, how Lichtenstein tries to avoid that at all costs, and how tripartite pacts can be such troublesome things.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Wow it's been a while since I've written ANYTHING. So this is a collab between my and my lover, Venus Syrinx! Kesesese… I'm doing Lili's POV and she's doing Vash's. It might get kind of awkward with changing writing styles but try to bear with it. Hope you guys will enjoy.

I am Lichtenstein. Though, I have been told that I could be called Lili as well…

Whom has granted me such a name you ask? Well, in all honesty, I'd like to call him his name as well… Vash…

But as he is in every sense my savior; Me, the Lichtenstein whom had nothing and is nothing, finally had something to possess the moment I laid eyes on Switzerland…

Yes, Switzerland.

It was quite a lovely day, I had just finished picking weeds around a fresh edelweiss that had bloomed today. Edelweiss is bruder's favorite plant by the way, and he does everything in his power to protect these rare blossoms. Sometimes, he'd even go as far as pointing a rifle at anyone who dare to pick these flowers off the ground!

That's my bruder, quite a sadistic person from afar, but as soon as cold stares stray away, his gentle and caring natured-self immediately takes over. That is one of the many things I've learned to love about him… Yes, indeed, one of many, many more.

*SNAP!*

Hm? What did that-

…

I seem to have.. Broken the stem of the edelweiss…

Oh… OH DEAR! W-WHAT… What should I d-do…?!?

I quickly took the blossom away, my heart pounding thrice as fast as the ticking of my pocket watch… I must hurry and find a pot for the poor thing…

More importantly, I should steer clear of bruder!!

Honestly, the many situations I get into whenever bruder comes to mind…

It isn't just cooking either, but also when I sew… I can't even begin to describe how many times the needle had pricked my tiny finger.

…

I managed to find a nice little vase and had filled it with water…

Bruder certainly has a reason for being so protective over these… Certainly I would not be able to talk my way out of this ordeal…

B-but I did not intend to do such a thing… Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!

I hear something… Could it b-

"Liechentstein!"

"B-bruder!" I slowly made my way towards a little stool next to the old grand piano, tucking the vase under the enormous instrument shortly after I sat. Whew! He's busy removing his coat… Oh dear…

"Oh? Have you finally intended to play me the piece your tutor had taught you? Bach, is it?"

Play a p-piano piece? I've hardly been practicing! Oh dear, oh dear!

"U-uhm.. Y-yes, bruder… I-I… will play… B-bach…"

He gave a few instructions to his household helper before facing towards me with a smile. Oh, if only I did practice my piano instead of messing with bruder's garden…

He sat on the velvet-white couch beside the piano with a tired huff, and slowly started removing his neck-tie. "I don't understand all this German composer nonsense though. If you ask me, I'd much rather hear a piece from Abravanel, Huber or Bovet, perhaps?"

Oh dear, I don't even recognize ANY of them!

"D-does it have to b-be now, bruder?"

"Well, you've got me to sit down here instead of going straight to my study. This is the opportunity for you to take pride in what you've learned, out with it!"

He flashed a determined and reassuring look with his bright, green eyes; His fist gripping his neck-tie with eagerness to hear my piece.

*Gulp!* As I turned around to face the piano, I felt my hands turn cold, I can hear my heart beat even faster than the pace it beat a moment ago, and my sweat run slowly across the back of my neck… Is this really happening?

I eyed the edelweiss that sit quietly under the piano, it seemed to cackle with enjoyment as it peered towards me with it's sharp-edged petals; sitting ever-so comfortably in its tiny vase. Suddenly, remembering I was expected to play something, I asked him, my heart filled with anxiety and regret, what song he wants me to play"

"W-well, bruder? Do you h-have a song in mind by Bach?" I waited silently for his answer, the touch of the cold piano keys made my hands tingle…

_Vash_

"Well," I said. It seems that Lili hasn't really been practicing hard enough to be as goood as Austr- I mean… That aristocrat! Always buying a new piano… Is he planning to have a piano in every room in his house?! I bet even his bath-

"B-b-bruder?" Lichtenstein stuttered. "Um…" Poor Lichtenstein, so nervous in performing in front of me… What piece would she be comfortable enough to play?

"W-well?" she prompted nervously. Is it really nerve racking to perform in front of me? Austria seems- Ah! Why does he always bother my thoughts?!

"I think you should play a piece you've mastered well." I said, giving her a smile as I clutched my necktie's knot, loosening it.

"A-ah! I-I will play Minuet in G Major. I'm sorry I'm not yet so good!" She said. She emitted a loud exhale then she started pressing those ebony and ivory keys.

Ah… I closed my eyes to relax and take in the music and ambience for awhile. The sunset pouring down the music room's window, tinting everything orange… The warmth of summer's end… Lichtenstein on the piano… It seems so nice to listen to during the afternoon, like this… But I would still have preferred Abravanel, Huber or Bovet. But nevertheless, it has calmed me from a day's long tension.

I clapped my hands as soon as the song finished. She looked at me hopefully. Anxiety was still evident in her eyes. I smiled at her to convince her that she did great. "That was wonderful Lichtenstein. Maybe one day you'll be better than Aus- your tutor." I said, cursing myself for thinking of Austria.

"Well, I'm off to the study now. I need to do more of those paper works. I see you at dinner." I said as I stood up towards her and patted her head for her improvement in playing the piano.

I turned towards the hall and started walking towards my study. I wondered how my edelweiss is doing… I suddenly had the urge to look at them. I turned to the direction of my garden.

"B-bruder~!"

"Ah!" Lichtenstein suddenly blocked my way towards the garden.

"Ah! Ah!" She panicked.

"Something wrong Lichtenstein?" I asked.

"Ah… N-nothing b-bruder! I-I was just… uh… Your study is that way right? Why are you heading this way?" She babbled on as she pointed on the direction of the garden.

"Yeah, I was heading there." I said, wondering why she reacted like this. "Is it strange to want to go to the gardens?" I asked.

"No no no! I-it was just… I mean, you have a l-lot of paperwork, bruder!" She sounded so nervous.

"Liechtenstein." I said, seriously. She looked suddenly so nervous.

"Y-yes bruder?" She said shakily.

"Are you hiding something from me?"

"O-of course not!"

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"O-of course! Why would I hide something from you bruder?"

"If you say so…" I decided to let it go. Maybe that damn Austria asked her to tea? OR! OR! OR! Maybe, to become one with him! Or maybe it was Prussia! Or Germany! Or maybe even Hungary!

"Did someone ask you to become one with them?" I said as I gripped her shoulders, forcing her to face me. "Was it Austria? Or or or Purssia? Germany? Hungary? France?!?" I asked quickly.

"N-no bruder! Nothing of that sort. Really bruder, do not worry. Go to your studies, I will take care of dinner, and the house. So please bruder…" She said giving me her smile, which did not reach her eyes. I looked at her and decided to really let go of it this time. Perhaps it is a girl thing. Those once a month visits. I sighed and gave her a smile.

"Okay I will. As soon as I talk to my beautiful edelweiss-"

"What!?!"

"Why?" I asked.

_Lili_

"I-I… uh"

I knew lying from the start was a positively horrible idea, with one lie leading to the next… my problems seem to keep piling up just like bruder's paperwork!

"Well, out with it. What are you hiding?"

That question echoed through my ear like it would a dark cave. I quickly scrambled around my mind for a plausible reason…

"There's this boy, you see…"

Switzerland's eyes widened in a flash. Oh dear WHAT have I just said? !?

"A b-boy?" He said, while gripping his fists.

"Y-yes…" I swallowed whatever was left of my pride and went ahead with the lie.

"A b-boy keeps watching m-me in the garden and I believe for it to be absolutely d-dangerous for you to go out there at this time of day!"

What. Have. I. DONE?

He just stood there after hearing what I have just managed to say. I couldn't tell if bruder was angry, disillusioned, suspicious or worried!

"Does this boy, wear glasses, have a mole, and a giant white cravat on his chest?" He asked me with a stern yet strong gleam in his eyes.

"N-no…" I can't manage to have him and Austria fight each other over a silly thing like this!

"H-he… He has… Black hair… Black eyes…" I need to think of characteristics people here wouldn't even dream of having… I mean, everyone around here has either light brown or blonde hair and different colored eyes…

"He's quite short too, and he sneaks around a-as quiet as a m-mouse…"

This way, bruder would have to shrug it off! I am positive that bruder has no such friend that would fit the description I just ga-

"Nihon."

"I b-beg your pardon, b-bruder?"

"I said Nihon. I knew he was up to something ever since I heard the conference blunder we had, but stalking YOU in MY house? This calls for a goddamn WAR, I tell you!"

Oh dear, oh dear, oh DEAR!! I will have to end the lies now and just say it-

"I, uh… Y-your, edelweiss!"

"Scheisse! My edelweiss!!! Quickly, Lili, who knows what that jerk has done to my prized blossom!"

Before I even got to open my mouth to reply, he grabbed my arm and rushed me towards the garden. To be close to bruder is indeed a wonderful thing, but to be doing so from having to lie? And an impending war as well? Oh Lichtenstein, you've done it now!

We rushed towards the garden, passing through hall upon hall, then gate upon gate, stairway upon stairway… Until we got to the scene of the crime.

I was too busy panting to notice the indescribable look in my bruder's eyes. Yet again I find myself frantically guessing what he was thinking, shock, anger, hate and disbelief… Or perhaps a mix of such feelings?

"B-bruder…!" It was not, Nihon, whomever this person is… I-it's me! I continued with, "The edelweiss… It snapped off because of m-"

"The maniac! I am fully aware, Lichtenstein. Nihon and his people are known for doing insulting and terribly scarring acts of hatred towards races they loathe… I SWEAR NIHON WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU!!"

I looked up, down, left and right, frantically finding a way out of this one… Perhaps, telling the truth is out of the question, seeing as I'm trapped in an inescapable tangle of lies that entangle me more and more until I can no longer break free… Whatever shall I do?!?


	2. Chapter 2

_**Vash**_

"B-b-bruder?" Liechtenstein stuttered after a few moments from my ranting.

"Liechtenstein." I looked at her seriously. I placed my hand on her left shoulder the looked at her straight in the eye. She flinched. "I want you to be prepared of whatever will happen. This event… the destruction of my edelweiss, it is Nihon's way of declaring war! I will fight Liechtenstein. This cannot just be overlooked. This is a serious matter. The House of the Habsburg had been insulted." I said. "Now, tonight, we will sleep well. Tomorrow, I will inform my bloodmates. And we will talk about it." I instructed her. There was horror in her face. I sighed. "I'm sorry but this is a great insult. I am sure my bloodmates will also feel the same."

"B-b-but bruder-" She suddenly stopped.

"What?" I prompted.

"Wh-what if…" She hesitated.

"What?" I prompted more insistently.

"What about our neutrality pact?" She blurted out.

"Liechtenstein," I started. "We are under attack Gottverdammt! We will fight, no matter what!" I said, anger running in my veins.

"Tonight, go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day. Gute nacht Lili." I said as I walked to my room to rest. I will finish those papers some other day. I need rest. Tomorrow will indeed be a long day.

"The House of Habsburgs has been under attack yesterday." I said to Austria, Spain and Hungary over the meeting table.

"What?! How? By who?!" Hungary asked immediately.

"Nihon, the black haired black-eyed Asian from where the sun rises, has picked or destroyed an edelweiss from my garden." I said sternly.

"WHAT?!" Hungary said in unison with Austria's "I BEG YOUR PARDON?!". Spain was his normal cheery smiling self despite the bad news.

"Later, I will show you the crime scene. For now, I will explain what happened." And I briefed them on what Liechtenstein and I talked about the previous afternoon.

"Something as insulting as that calls for action!" I said as I banged my fist on the table in anger.

"I suggest we contact Germany. He is, after all, the start of the Holy Roman Empire." Austria suggested.

"Then we should also contact North Italy!" Hungary said joyfully, no doubt excited at the thought of seeing North Italy often.

"Then we should also contact South Italy~!" Spain said cheerfully. I placed my hand on my forehead and rubbed it. Really, why are we so divided?

So by lunchtime, Germany, North and South Italy and Prussia were in my house.

Really, this is starting to become a headache.

_**Lili **_

The noise from the meeting room was beginning to irritate me, I can't imagine what it's doing to bruder!

Just a while ago, a tall man with piercing red eyes slammed the door open and declared the mansion his own, before proceeding to ask me very casually where the meeting room is... Just thinking what people like that will be doing to this Nihon person is really making me uneasy! An innocent young man is unknowingly under extreme danger, all because of my lies!

I took Adelle, (since I've thought of the edelweiss so very much, I've come to give it a name) into my room, hiding it under a loose plank of wood somewhere under my floor.

"I'll let you out of the dark when you deserve to, look at all the trouble you've caused!" I irritably whispered to the blossom, tapping my foot on the plank above it.

"It isn't right that I blame the flower, is it?" I thought to myself, as I gathered a map, a canister filled with Swiss tea and some bread and stuffed it into my backpack. I walked down the hallways nearing the meeting room and heard the ruckus; it made me even more uneasy.

"I've got to do something about this. For the welfare of bruder and Nihon! …Whomever this person may be, that is" I concluded, dashing towards the backdoor of the mansion.

With my trusty leather back pack, my old map and my afternoon tea coming along with me, I left home to try and find this Nihon person before dinnertime.

But where should I begin?

I first went towards the town nearest to bruder's place, Schwyz. It's a quaint little town surrounded by Swiss alps and large trees, quite a tourist attraction as well for its fresh air.

"Excuse me, sir" I asked a certain someone who seemed to not be doing anything important. "Would you happen to know where people with black-hair and black-eyes tend to be?

The man, with a striking resemblance to Spain, having bright brown eyes, curly brown hair and a light, sun-kissed tan seemed to chuckle with what I had said. Oh dear, have I just asked something embarrassing or silly?

"Why, sir? I-I do suppose what I said is quite strange b-but.."

"Oh, not at all menina"

Menina? Hmm, does he perhaps think me an acquaintance of his?

"Oh, sir, my name isn't Menina… You might've mistook me f-"

"Ahaha, right. Well, let me introduce myself first then. I'm Portugal. And you are?"

"I-I'm Liechtenstein…It's n-nice to meet you, Mr. Portugal"

"Well now, I'm the one to look for when it comes to navigating and discovering, my friends often tell me. Why don't I help you out? We can perhaps navigate around the su-"

"Th-thank you sir, but really all I need are directions… and f-fast!" I insisted, bowing my head in respect.

Portugal sighed, seems like he really wanted to test his skills out! But sadly, I've no time for his fun!

"Well sounds like you're looking for an Asian, and there's a Chinatown over there, just keep going straight, take a left, then a right at the next corner and la! You have it"

"Thank you very much, Mr. Portugal, sir… M-my many thanks!" I managed to say as I wrote down his instructions on my hand.

There and then, I rushed towards Chinatown, on the search for Nihon. (I still have no idea who this person is)

_**Vash**_

I should have known… This is a total ruckus! I should have known inviting the Italians and Prussia is a big mistake.

I looked at the meeting table again. North Italy is talking non-stop to Hungary. Prussia is annoying the hell out of Austria (who still does not fight back!) and Spain is trying to, what the hell… KISS SOUTH ITALY?!?! Mein Gott! I'm so glad that Germany is just sitting there with his head on his hand.

My hands itched for the rifle at my back. In just two seconds I found myself pointing the gun upwards and pulling the trigger. "EVERY ONE, KEEP QUIET AND SIT DOWN GOTTVERDAMMT! THIS IS A SERIOUS MATTER! JAPAN HAS INSULTED THE HABSBURGS!" I ordered. Thankfully, everyone sat down and kept quiet… Except Prussia who was making noise by cooing on his pet chick that sits on top of his head.

"Okay," I began as I exhaled, releasing tension from my body. "Let us have a thirty-minute break. Do whatever you have to or you want to. When we resume, we will hear the story direct from Liechtenstein, the witness of the crime." With that, I left the conference room immediately, wanting to get away from the noise as soon as possible.

After I had grabbed some chocolates to ease and calm me, I searched for Liechtenstein.

"Liechtenstein?" I called throughout the mansion while walking. I waited a few moments. There was no answer.

I searched for her in every room of our house. Even her own bathroom! And she is still nowhere to be found.

A sudden realization struck me.

I ran to the conference room.

"EVERYBODY! NIHON HAS KIDNAPPED LIECHTENSTEIN!"

_**Lili**_

After passing a few souvenir shops and restaurants, the sounds of screaming vendors and gongs caught my attention. Seems like I've found Chinatown!

I slowly walked through the crowded streets, constantly worrying about being knocked down by someone. I looked up and observed how people here fit Nihon's description… Almost all of them have black eyes and black hair!

I sat down on 3-step staircase and sighed. After resting for a bit I realized I hadn't had afternoon tea yet. I carefully took by bag and unpacked my things.

"Hey that looks pretty appetizing, mind if I join you aru?" a voice called out to me.

I looked up and was surprised. This person had Asian features and long, black hair tied up in a side ponytail.

"Ah- sure, please" I smiled and got another cup, pouring him some hot tea from my canister.

"It's peculiar finding a European along these parts, usually we Asians have been keeping to ourselves aru" He continued, bowing slightly after receiving his cup. He set down a really heavy looking basket and sat down beside me, letting out an exhausted sigh.

"P-perhaps you can help me, kind sir" I managed to say. "You see, I'm looking for this person…"

After sipping his tea, he looked up towards me and smiled. "A person you say aru? And what does this person look like aru?"

I thought long and hard about what to say. "Well, he has features like yours, but he is… Not in good terms with my bruder, Switzerland"

This made the man choke on his tea a little before sighing one more time. "I think I know who you are talking about aru. Is his name, Japan or… Perhaps Nihon aru? There's no other like me out there who's gutsy enough to stand up to that Switzerland fellow…"

I shot up as soon as I heard this. "Oh! Well! Uhm, could you perhaps take me to him Mr…?"

"China. Just call me China aru" He said with a smile before having his last sip from my teacup and handing it over.

"I'll take you to him, no problem aru." He went to his basket and removed what seemed to me like a gigantic black bear! He tossed it aside and went closer to me…

AH!

"Wh-what exactly a-are you-"

"Don't worry aru. It's must more timely and efficient if I bring you to him this way. Now in you go aru" He picked me up and placed me in the basket very gently. I seemed to fit quite snuggly inside, but I was all very confused that I didn't have enough time to process everything in my head!

"Nihon doesn't stay in these parts so much anymore aru. He's my little brother you know, but he acts as if he's on top or something aru." China said as he jumped on a few posts and sprinted even faster. "What business do you have with that guy, exactly aru?"

I looked down and grasped the rim of the basket tight. I believe I can trust him, after all, we did have tea together!

"W-well… My bruder i-is very angry at him… He's e-even threatening a war! So I must warn him so as to avoid the whole thing"

China looked down and seemed to think deeply, before answering me with a smile.

"Oh well, not to worry! I'm a very fast runner, we'll get to him in less than a minute!"


End file.
